Lawmakers press Silicon Valley tech giants for more diversity

1st May 2018

This week saw top black lawmakers continue to press tech giants such as Airbnb, Apple, Facebook and Twitter on diversity. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus arrived in the Bay Area on Monday to challenge the fact that the tech sector lacks diversity in its executive ranks and fails to invest in minority-owned startups.

“We’re letting companies know they must provide greater opportunity to African Americans,” North Carolina Rep. G.K. Butterfield told The Washington Post. He added that they aimed to “expose any company that provides lip service.”

Last year, the CBC convinced Facebook to appoint a black board member. The appointment was revealed in January.

This year, the CBC hopes to convince tech executives to attend a summit on diversity. The summit is already listing PayPal in attendance. PayPal Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman said the company is “fully committed to achieving a more diverse and inclusive workplace.”

However, tech giants still have a long way to go. At Apple, black employees comprise only 9% of its US force while at Twitter they comprise only 3.4%, according to employment data from the firms.